The design was originally intended solely for the Canadian market as an alternative to the unpopular Rapid Transit Series (RTS) but ultimately the Classic, produced from 1982 to 1997, met with widespread success in both Canada and the United States.

When GMC in the United States decided to replace the New Look with the RTS II series in 1977, they hoped that they would win over operators in both the US and Canada.

During the two transitions the Classic continued to be built until NovaBus discontinued the model in 1997, as most agencies preferred the new low-floor LFS design.

Pittsburgh, Montreal (including Laval and the South Shore agencies), Ottawa, Buffalo, Halifax, Lévis, Toronto, Santa Monica, Connecticut, Rochester, PACE, Quebec City, Windsor and Winnipeg have retired most of their Classics due to increasing maintenance costs, difficulty in obtaining replacement parts, and the agencies' plans to convert to low-floor fleets.

However, a few transit agencies began purchasing used Classics due to rising costs and lack of funding for new buses.

A former 1986 Hamilton Street Railway Classic (HSR 8602) that was retired in 2002 was featured as part of a redecorating sketch in a 2005 episode of The Red Green Show.

As of 2020, Classics from Vancouver, Calgary, Connecticut, Montreal, New York City, Saskatoon, Santa Monica, Toronto and Winnipeg have been preserved by local non-profit bus groups.

[2] All 16 of the articulated buses were scrapped upon retirement, but some parts from the Halifax Transit fleet were saved for use on their remaining refurbished Classics.

However, GM, MCI and NovaBus did build a commuter version with all forward-facing seats and no center exit.

From 2004 to 2005, Dupont Industries, a Quebec City-based company, refurbished and rebuild retired Classics into trolley-like sightseeing buses.